Sweatsuit Alternatives – Part I

When I came upon Ain’t No Mom Jeans, I knew I had to bring some of Shana’s “Get Out Of Those Yoga Pants” inspiration to Rookie Moms. I asked her to share some tips for helping us fight the urge to put our fashion choices on the back burner while we are out and about with our kiddos. She came up with THREE recommendations and I love them all. Today she will coach us to adopt some “Cute Sneaks” and give us suggestions for a sporty jacket.

Her post begins below the photo.

Cool Sporty Jacket + Cute Sneaks = Modern Mama

I hate Crocs on Moms. I also hate Keens, Tevas, and all other similar “I could be hiking/biking/rafting right now” types of shoes. However, many, many, many of my very good friends love these shoes. LOVE them. I believe they are contagious. Like Christmas sweaters, if enough moms are wearing them, more moms get suckered in. So, while I refuse to support this choice directly, I will concede that if you are someone whose Sport Shoe will remain in firm rotation, this outfit is for you.

Please consider the Cute Sneak as a much more fashionable, yet just as comfortable alternative to your athletic shoes which should be reserved for an actual workout or day at the lake.

This sweatsuit alternative couldn’t be easier: throw on a cool sporty jacket with your favorite pair of jeans and add cute sneaks. The challenge, however, is actually finding the cool sporty jacket and cute sneaks. You want something different, something that fits perfectly, something cool. This look is so versatile (errands, park, coffee, art class, shopping, baseball game) that it’s worth spending a little extra time (and money) to get it right.

Cute Sneaks (NOTE: While Cute Sneaks are in fact, sneakers, they are very definitely NOT running shoes, or basketball shoes, or sport shoes at all. They are simply for walking around a city, looking cool and being comfortable. Piperlime.com calls them “Fashion Sneakers” ): Adidas Sailing Light Sneakers

Pictured on Shana (above) is an Adidas jacket, True Religion Jeans, and Adidas sneaks. The babe is wearing a Zutano striped top, with the Imps & Elves Cuffed Jeans, and white Puma sneakers.

So put the sweatpants down….that’s right….now back away slowly. That’s a good girl.

Xo, S

Shana Draugelis is a contributor for Ain’t No Mom Jeans, a mom fashion and lifestyle blog dedicated to all that is cool about motherhood. She’ll be inspiring us with two additional sweatsuit alternatives next week!

This look is a very cute alternative to the sweat suit, but I must speak out in defense of my Crocs. They make some really cute ballet flat and even sandals with wedge heels now. I should know; I own 4 pair. (She says sheepishly!)

Mary, you crack me up. As long as we’re putting it out there: I love my Keens. I think that they’re a cute slip-on elasticky MaryJane shoe that can go with a skirt or jeans. But I might be kidding myself.

None of those ‘cute’ sneakers come in my size. I wear an 8.5 N. Go to Zappos and look how the number of styles goes down when you look for narrow athletic shoes – from 3800 to 125. I wear New Balance. They’re not cute. Sorry. But they fit without giving me blisters and pain in the arch of my foot.

The jackets? They probably don’t fit either. With nursing, my boobs went to a J cup. Yes, that’s a real size – it means your chest is 10 inches larger than your ribcage. I’m not huge (or I wasn’t before getting pregnant again), but having weird proportions means needing tops with very simple lines and hopefully some stretch so I don’t look like a balloon on top. Plain C9 V neck tees and a simple fleece keep me from looking like I weigh 400 lbs.

As for jeans vs yoga pants, I feel like yoga pants are just more practical. They don’t reveal butt cleavage when I sit on the storytime mat. They also don’t cut off the circulation to my feet when I sit for an hour cross-legged, which is helpful when my son suddenly decides to make a break for it.

Hi Gang – Thanks for the comments! And let me just say that I love my flip-flops. I just wanted to focus on some cold weather options, since we can’t all live in Southern California!

Jessica – The sneaks in the pic are a limited edition Pucci print for Adidas that came out several years ago. I couldn’t even find them on ebay. I know Nike did a Pucci collaboration last winter, but the results were not that great. The best option, if you are really dying for these shoes is to try out Adidas’ new custom shoe shop. Got to: http://www.miadidas.com Choose the “mi Gazelle” shoe. Try a base color of pink or lime, and then experiment with the classic or fading square print in white. You can then pick colors for the stripes, laces, etc. I was actually able to design a pretty cool shoe with a similar vibe, if not the exact same pattern. Also, check out Adidas’ originals by original artist series. They may have something equally cool. Hope this helps!!

Laura – The bag is the Marc Jacobs Pretty little Nylon hobo. I bought it, actually, because I could fit WAAAAY more stuff in it than in traditional diaper bags. This bag goes EVERYWHERE with me. It’s from roughly 2 years ago, but Marc Jacobs did re-release the line with new colors / prints this summer and again this fall. Google “marc jacobs pretty nylon” You should see both the “little hobo”, which is pictured above (there is a fantastic grape one at piperlime) as well as a tote in a ton of different patterns and colors. I also have the paisley tote – it actually fits MORE than the hobo, but doesn’t have a zipper. Both are great.

Mary – Confession: I actually tried on Croc’s silver ballet flats, and only walked away because they were too big (no half size available). BTW, the ballet flat was also written up in Lucky magazine, so you are in good company!

I LOVE J-41 shoes: http://www.zappos.com/j-41-sandy-olive-multi Some of their shoes are really *not my style*, but some are so cute, like these ones. They’re slightly rock climberish, but a little sexy, if that is possible.